Many U.S.-based suppliers are eager to capture a share of the market for international companies who market themselves in North America — my company included.  As a sales leader for Freeman, the most progressive face-to-face marketing company in the U.S., I certainly get my fair share of opportunities to do so.  But anyone who offers their products and services to internationals doing business here in the western hemisphere will be unprepared if they don’t embrace three fundamental business practices beforehand:

Negotiation:

Americans are relationship-centered.  In our value system, negotiation equates confrontation, and despite our stereotype, we Americans dread confrontations.  However, if your client is from Europe, South Asia, or the Middle East, negotiation is a natural part of their life.  I once regularly worked with a European client who relentlessly negotiated until I’d exasperatedly suggest he find another supplier to provide the services he wanted, at the price he wanted.  Once he’d elicited this response from me, my client was satisfied he had squeezed every last concession from me, and signed my proposals.

Expect to negotiate, and get good at it.  Otherwise, you’ll lose opportunities, or – even worse – money.

Pricing:

Depending upon your business, pricing models between the U.S. and other countries vary substantially.  In my business, international trade show exhibitors are accustomed to turnkey exhibits that are used one time, or, “one-offs”.  Conversely, most exhibit-designers in North America were trained to develop a la carte designs suited for continued shipment and re-use.  International exhibitors are sometimes sticker-shocked when they are presented with proposals for designs that don’t match their usage expectations.  In short, to overcome those disparities, we use less-expensive materials, and less labor-intensive methodologies to suit the needs of international exhibitors.

Know the variables that drive pricing in international countries, and be prepared to customize your offering to suit cultural differences.

Language:

Western Europe is 7 hours, and most of Asia is 12-14 hours ahead of the U.S.  Real-time communication means early mornings and late nights for suppliers in North America.  Moreover, it gets confusing when you don’t speak your client’s native tongue, and she is trying to translate what you’re saying in English – over a telephone line with an irritating time delay.

Luckily, English is the international language.  Conduct most of your communication over email, and your client will have time to translate and respond appropriately to your dialogue.

There’s no way this little blog can begin to capture the essence of the challenges that lie ahead for U.S. marketers seeking a share of the billions that internationally-based companies are spending in the U.S.  Moreover, while there is an endless list of books written about doing business overseas, there is a dearth of titles designed for readers who want to do business here in the U.S. with inbound international companies.  If you’re interested in my reading list on the subject, send me a note and I’ll forward it to you.

Hasta la proxima vez… bonne chance!

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